Zenit defeated PARMA-PARIMATCH at home – 82:75 (26-24, 26-14, 21-20, 9-17).
The best scorers:
Zenit: Sergey Karasev (18), Andrey Zubkov (17 + 8 rebounds), Dmitry Kulagin (11 points)
PARMA-PARIMATCH: Evgeny Voronov (19), Valery Likhodei (16 + 5 rebounds), Artem Zabelin (15), Alexandr Platunov (11)
Game progress
Zenit (10-3) came to the game in an updated lineup: Sergey Monia, Vitaly Fridzon and Andrey Toptunov, as well as American forward Aaron Carver, arrived in place of the legionnaires who left the team. PARMA-PARIMATCH (5-4), having lost all foreign players, added players from the youth team, and 20-year-old guard Konstantin Klementiev even came out in the starting-5.
Zenit indicated its desire to win from the first minutes: hits by Maksim Karvanen and Sergey Karasev gave the hosts a 5-point lead. PARMA, however, came back th the game quickly, and Artem Zabelin even put the guests ahead in the middle of the quarter. Until the end of the 1st quarter, the teams exchanged shots, delighting Sibur Arena with effective basketball. by the end of a starting quarter, the St. Petersburg team led with a slight advantage – 26:24.
But at the start of the 2nd quarter, Zenit accelerated: made a 8-2 run and forced the guests to take a timeout. But a minute’s pause did not help PARMA to return: Sergey Karasev and Andrey Zubkov for the first time increased the lead to double digits – 43:31. Zenit recruits also scored: Vitaly Fridzon scored points in the paint, and Sergey Monia – from the perimeter.
In the middle of the quarter, PARMA guard Gleb Sheiko scored a 3-pointer, and Zenit coach Xavi Pascual immediately reacted with his timeout. The Spanish coach was dissatisfied with the defense of his team, and they corrected it – before the halftime, the Perm team were able to score from the game only once. By this time, Zenit had already lead by 14 points – 52:38. The St. Petersburg team was able to get such an advantage with successful defensive actions: Zenit completely closed the paint, and also limited the guests’ opportunities to score quick points.
After a halftime, PARMA’s position became critical – the hosts lead reached 20 points. The guests attempted a comeback, shifting the emphasis in shooting. And it gave the result: 3-pointers by Evgeny Voronov and Artem Zabelin – two of the most productive players of the team – gave PARMA fans hope for success. But Zenit’s offense worked flawlessly in the first 30 minutes of the game: the St. Petersburg team won the 3rd quarter and went to the last break with a 15-point lead – 73:58.
And yet, in the last quarter, PARMA managed to close Zenit players: in the first 7 minutes, Zenit scored only 3 points, and the Perm team made the St.Petersburg team lead by 9 points since the 2nd quarter.
The key moment
The guests managed to drag the St. Petersburg team into a tense ending: 2 minutes before the end, the score difference was 7 points. But at the crucial moment, PARMA leader, Evgeny Voronov, first missed a 3-pointer, and in the next possession he received an offensive foul – this foul became the 5th for the forward.
In the remaining minute and a half, Zenit managed to hold the lead and get the win – 82:75.
Hero
Andrey Zubkov. The forward spent almost 30 minutes on the floor, scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. Zubkov became the most effective player of the game with 22 eff. points.
Numbers
297 – Sergey Monia spent so many days without professional basketball. The forward, who played 11 seasons for Khimki, signed a contract with Zenit and helped his new team with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal against PARMA.
Comments
Xavier Pascual, Zenit Head Coach :
— We played very well for 30 minutes, and in the last quarter we stopped. I want to congratulate the players on the win, and also to note all the newcomers of the team. It seems to me that we played normally, but the most important thing is that we won. We understand the way in which we need to go further in order to continue to win. With any roster of players, a professional coach should look for ways to win. In the fourth quarter, we stopped scoring points, so we had to find other options in the offense.
Viacheslav Shushakov, PARMA-PARIMATCH Head Coach:
– If we start from the numbers, then in the first half we allowed the opponent to score 52 points, and in the second only 30. At the halftime, we adjusted the game: we rested on defense, were more aggressive on the rebound. We won the fourth quarter due to the desire and concentration with which we need to go to the game. Now our plans do not change – the VTB United League playoffs in any case.
What’s next:
Zenit: road game against CSKA on March 14
PARMA-PARIMATCH: home game versus Avtodor on March 13
